Yourish.com

11/08/2009

The vast American anti-Muslim backlash

Filed under: Juvenile Scorn, Religion, Terrorism — Meryl Yourish @ 9:32 am

You know, I really don’t care about the news today. I’m going to be busy going out and looking for some Muslims to backlash.

US Homeland Security officials are working with groups around United States to head off any possible anti-Muslim backlash following the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas, the agency’s chief said Sunday.

The comments by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also appeared part of efforts to reassure the Arab world that US authorities were taking measures to quell anti-Islam sentiments after last week’s rampage by an American-born Muslim serving as US Army psychiatrist.

Anti-Muslim backlash incidents are famous in America, as we all know. Why, simply thousands of them were recorded after 9/11, possibly even hundreds of thousands or millions. (Most of them were covered up by the Zionist-controlled media, which is why you only heard of a few.) Muslims are afraid to show their faces in the United States, and the’ve stopped emigrating to this country because they fear the dreaded anti-Muslim backlash of me and my fellow Americans. Wait… what’s that? Attacks against Muslims have decreased since 9/11? That can’t be right. I’m backlashing! My fellow Americans are backlashing! Dammit, we want to backlash!

Napolitano said her agency is working with state and local groups to try to deflect any anti-Muslim anger after the Thursday attacks by Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a Muslim who reportedly expressed growing dismay over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The shootings left 13 people dead and 29 wounded.

“This was an individual who does not, obviously, represent the Muslim faith,” she said after meeting with a group of women university students.

Well, at least our director of homeland security knows that Americans are going to backlash against Muslims after a Muslim on jihad murdered thirteen and wounded dozens. And Muslim leaders are totally worried about “immediate reprisals.” Yeah, they should be. Because it’s obvious that there’s a need for it.

Anti-Discrimination Committee President Mary Rose Oakar called on law enforcement agencies “to provide immediate protection for all mosques, community centers, schools and any locations that may be identified or misidentified with being Arab, Muslim, South Asian or Sikh.”

While officials in other cities have stepped up security outside mosques and other Muslim institutions in the aftermath of the shootings, a police spokesman in Baltimore said the department had yet to receive any request to do so here.

“Our [intelligence] community has their ears very low to the ground when it comes to dealing with these populations,” spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. “We kind of have a good sense as to what their needs are, and we react accordingly.”

Wait—what? What are they talking about? The AP has declared that there is an immediate backlash, and Napolitano has assured Muslim nations that America will protect the Muslims within her borders from the crazy, angry mobs that are going to backlash against them because a Muslim connected to the 9/11 bombers murdered 12 soldiers and a civilian on Friday.

Hasan, the sole suspect in the massacre of 13 fellow US soldiers in Texas, attended the controversial Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Great Falls, Virginia, in 2001 at the same time as two of the September 11 terrorists, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt. His mother’s funeral was held there in May that year.

The preacher at the time was Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born Yemeni scholar who was banned from addressing a meeting in London by video link in August because he is accused of supporting attacks on British troops and backing terrorist organisations.

Hasan’s eyes “lit up” when he mentioned his deep respect for al-Awlaki’s teachings, according to a fellow Muslim officer at the Fort Hood base in Texas, the scene of Thursday’s horrific shooting spree.

Don’t be ridiculous. That’s not why we have to backlash. Just because he really was an anti-American Islamic jihadist doesn’t mean that we can’t backlash against the Religion of Peace™.

Come on, who’s with me! Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

11/06/2009

Gaza ERA watch

Filed under: Feminism, Gaza, Religion — Meryl Yourish @ 7:00 am

Say, folks, it’s true: Islam is totally a feminist religion. Why, just look at what Hamas is going to do in Gaza!

Hamas authorities on Thursday asked several educational institutions in southern Gaza Strip to segregate males and females in compliance with Islamic norms.

The call appeared on a notification signed by Police General-Directorate in Rafah town, ordering private social and educational centers to sign a form demanding their commitment of Islamic and Palestinian traditions and preventing smoking.

The police threatened to impose about 1,300 U.S. dollars in fine to those who do not commit to “inform the police about suspected students or infracting decency.”

It’s okay, they’re only going to fine violaters. There won’t be any floggings.

Yet.

Previous decision included forcing lawyers and high school female students to wear long, loose uniforms with head covers and preventing women from riding behind men on motorcycles.

Gee, I really can’t argue with those Muslims who tell me how liberating Islam is for women.

11/05/2009

Jihad in Fort Hood

Filed under: Religion, Terrorism — Meryl Yourish @ 7:18 pm

There’s been a mass murder in Fort Hood, Texas, and it’s looking a lot like jihad.

A U.S. Army major opened fire on fellow soldiers Thursday in the heart of the giant Fort Hood Army base in central Texas, killing 11 people and wounding at least 31 in one of the worst incidents of soldier-on-soldier violence in military history.

The officer, Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan, was later shot and killed by security personnel on the base, which is about 160 miles southwest of Dallas.

Two other soldiers were in custody, base officials said, amid indications that the attack may have been premeditated and well-organized.

Military officials said that Maj. Hasan was a psychiatrist who had been recently promoted to major and transferred to Fort Hood from Washington’s Walter Reed Medical Center. Maj. Hasan’s professional specialties included post-traumatic stress disorder, combat stress and other emotional issues common to the troops implicated in earlier incidents of military fratricide.

As usual, there’s a lot of dancing toward the “combat stress” reason, but it’s really looking a whole lot like jihad here. Gateway Pundit has more.

11/03/2009

Anti-Semitic religious Catholic hypocrite an out-of-wedlock dad

Filed under: Juvenile Scorn, Pop Culture, Religion — Meryl Yourish @ 3:00 pm

Mel Gibson, the Catholic so religious that he belongs to a sect that refuses to acknowledge Vatican II, had a daughter out of wedlock with his current girlfriend. (His wife of 30 years is divorcing him, another Catholic no-no.) This, of course, is the Mel Gibson who made a film about Jesus and went on a drunken rant about Jews when caught on a DUI.

Actor-director Mel Gibson and his girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, are the new parents of a daughter named Lucia, his spokesman confirmed to CNN.

No other details were released about the baby, who was born Friday at an undisclosed hospital in Los Angeles, California.

Baby Lucia is the eighth child for Gibson, 53, and the second for Grigorieva, 39. Gibson has six sons and a daughter from his marriage to his wife of 30 years, Robyn. The couple filed for divorce in April.

Oh, and they have no plans to get married.

That’s what I like to see. A man who is so religious that he made a whole movie about Jesus, did an enormous amount of Jew-baiting to get the movie publicized, and who apparently can’t seem to follow the teachings of the guy he made the film about because he is so devout. Let’s see, as I’m not Catholic, I’m not up on my mortal sins, but aren’t adultery and fornication pretty high up there on the list?

It truly is Hypocrite Day here at Yourish.com.

10/29/2009

Briefly

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, Israel Derangement Syndrome, News Briefs, Religion, Terrorism — Meryl Yourish @ 12:30 pm

You can’t make this stuff up dept.: Okay, let’s be clear. When Israelis protested to the Turks that their portrayal of IDF soldiers as bloodthirsty murderers and rapists, the Turks said that it wasn’t meant to be harmful, and that they really love Israelis. Really. But when the Palestinians complained that it portrayed them in a negative light (the Palestinians murdered women the soldiers raped, in “honor” killings, well, that was enough to get the “content advisor” to resign in outrage. Of course, this makes perfect sense in a nation where 53% say they wouldn’t want a Jew for a neighbor, and where the Turks are cozying up to Iran and Islamists have essentially won the day.

Don’t worry, it won’t be determined an anti-Semitic attack: Two Jews were shot in the legs inside a synagogue in Los Angeles this morning, but I’m sure it will be determined that it wasn’t anti-Semitism. Violent attacks on Jews in America seem to always be the work of a lone, crazy gunman. I guess we should be happy this guy was not only crazy, but a lousy shot.

But he’s not a Democrat, so no one will care: Gunshots were fired at Lou Dobbs’ home while his wife was standing outside. So, someone who doesn’t like Dobbs’ stance on immigration tried to kill his wife? Nice. This is what you would call a case of domestic terrorism. The gunshot followed a series of threatening phone calls.

Religion of tolerance confiscates bibles: But yes, Islam is tolerant of other faiths. Just ask them. They’re confiscating the bibles because they referred to God as Allah. I’m trying to think if there has ever been a case where Israel confiscated bibles or korans. Hm. Thinking… no, give me a minute, I’m sure I’ll find an example… uh, no. I’m out.

Saudi Arabia joins the seventeenth century: The King had to step in and cancel a medieval punishment, but hey, those Saudis are really modernizing. They’re not going to give a woman 60 lashes with a whip for having worked on a television show where a man talked about sex. Except she had nothing to do with that show. The man, meantime, was sentenced to a prison term, plus lashes. So maybe the Saudis aren’t quite out of the fourteenth century yet. I wouldn’t know… when did Christians flog people for talking about sex in public?

10/28/2009

Queers for Palestine: They’re on the wrong side

Filed under: Israel, Religion, palestinian politics — Tags: , — Meryl Yourish @ 9:30 am

So, let me get this straight—a gay Palestinian, who has been living in Israel with an Israeli partner for years, gets denied entry to Israel, can’t go back to his home town because he’s already been tortured by the Palestinian “police” and will be murdered if he returns, so he is currently living with—a religious settler in the West Bank? What’s that? A devout Jew is saving the life of a homosexual Palestinian?

“I can’t go back to my home in Israel; I can’t enter the village. The only option left for me is to hide out in a settlement, in a home that accepts me in a humane way,” said T. on Tuesday.

I think the gay community that is so stridently against Israel is working for the wrong side.

Granted, it seems like the defense forces are screwing this poor guy, and yes, things like that really do suck for the Palestinians. But the reasons for the checkpoints and the suspicion have been borne out by the many terror attacks, and even more attempted terror attacks. Just the other day, a Palestinian woman stabbed an Israeli soldier manning a checkpoint.

But—reverse the situation, and the gay guy dies. Gee, I wonder if Sullivan will bother to cover this story. Probably not without much hand-wringing about how evil Israel is preventing the Palestinian from getting back in.

10/25/2009

The unbiased media, part the next

Filed under: AP Media Bias, Israel, Religion — Meryl Yourish @ 10:56 am

Say, take a look at this headline and tell me what kind of images it conjures up:

Israeli police storm Jerusalem’s holiest site

Holy crap! Israeli police stormed the Temple Mount? Really? Let’s see what
the Israeli media have to say. First, Ynet:

Jerusalem: Temple Mount riots resume
Nine police officers were lightly injured Sunday stones and Molotov cocktails hurled at forces stationed at the Temple Mount as part of the high state of alert in the area. A female Australian reporter was lightly injured by stones in the Old City.

Forces patrolling the area also noticed oil poured on the floor, apparently in order to cause the officers to slip and make their activity in the area more difficult.

A police force entered the Temple Mount compound in order to catch the stone throwers, using shock grenades. More than 18 people were arrested on the Mount and in its surroundings, including senior Fatah member Khatem Abdel Kader, who is charge of the Jerusalem portfolio in the Palestinian organization.

JPost:

9 cops, reporter lightly hurt in J’lem
Nine police officers and a foreign reporter were lightly hurt Sunday in clashes between security forces and Arab rioters in the capital.

Police were forced to storm the Temple Mount twice during the the day of fierce rioting, and were met by a hail of rocks and a firebomb.

And Ha’aretz, the Israeli paper most quoted by the New York Times:

Israel Police battle Arab rioters on Temple Mount; PA official arrested
Stone-throwing Arab youths wounded three policemen on the Temple Mount on Sunday as Jerusalem police, firing water cannons and stun grenades, raided the holy site in a bid to quell repeated bouts of rioting. At least 18 Palestinians were wounded over the course of the day.

Police stormed the compound twice; the first time was in response to Arab youths who pelted officers with rocks and poured oil on them.

Later Sunday morning, about 100 Arab youths renewed rioting at the Temple Mount, after which Border Police and regular policemen raided the site again, using stun grenades to disperse the rioters.

In other words, Arabs rioted on the Temple Mount and were throwing stones below at Jews, a life-threatening action. Israeli police moved in to stop the stone-throwing and rioting. And how does the AP portray this?

Israeli forces stormed Jerusalem’s holiest shrine Sunday, firing stun grenades to disperse hundreds of stone-throwing Palestinian protesters in a fresh eruption of violence at the most volatile spot in the country.

A wall of Israeli riot police behind plexiglass shields closed in on the crowd, sending many protesters – overwhelmingly young men – running for cover into the black-domed Al-Aqsa mosque. The mosque is one part of the compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

After several rounds of clashes, dozens of protesters were still holed up inside the mosque at midafternoon, occasionally opening shuttered doors to throw objects at police. The Israeli forces did not enter the building and police said they had no plans to do so. There were no serious injuries.

You know what you didn’t see in the AP? Any stories leading up to the events that happened today. It was all over the Israeli press that Arabs were calling for rioting at the Temple Mount again. But the AP puts none of these facts into its article.

The Jerusalem Police will bolster deployment throughout the Old City, east Jerusalem and Temple Mount compound Sunday, following recent calls by both Arab and Jewish elements to arrive at the compound on Sunday.

The Islamic Movement announced it will make buses available for worshipers who wish to arrive at the mosque Sunday.

The movement’s spokesman Zahy Nujeidat said the flyer calling Arabs to protect the area was issued “in response to those who try and desecrate al-Aqsa.”

Instead, the AP puts this as the fourth paragraph:

Israel’s national police chief, David Cohen, accused a small group of Muslim extremists of trying to foment violence – echoing a charge made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu two weeks ago.

Note the attempt to blame it on Netanyahu and make it seem like a false accusation, when it is absolutely true. Also notice that the lead calls them Palestinian “protesters,” when, in fact, they are rioters. What are they protesting? Are there signs? Is there a cause? No. They are responding to the lies that Jews are going to “attack” al-Aqsa. It is incitement—not the “charge” of incitement. But those facts would affect the narrative, and so, they don’t wind up in the story.

Typical. That’s why I have an entire category titled “AP Media Bias.”

10/06/2009

Jews pray in Jerusalem; Arabs riot

Filed under: Israel, Religion — Meryl Yourish @ 6:17 pm

What happens when Jews try to pray at their holy sites in Jerusalem on their holidays? Why, the tolerant Palestinian Muslims try to kill them. And the head of the Palestinian Authority, the ostensible Israeli peace partner, talks about not letting Jews “Judaize” Jerusalem.

The Jews’ role in Jerusalem? Well, that’s been played down by the two child religions since, well, since they grabbed a foothold in the area. Oh, you have people like Jimmy Carter referring to Israel as “the Holy Land,” paying lip service to the fact that his religion grew out of Judaism, but when push comes to shove, he jumps on the Palestinian bandwagon regarding the “Judaization” of Jerusalem. The 3,000-year history of Jews in Jerusalem? Meaningless, because the Jews left. Or at least, the Palestinians took it over. Or something. Jordan annexed it in 1949? Hey, nobody actually objected to the Jordanian destruction of Jewish synagogues, holy sites, and cemeteries. The eastern part of Jerusalem has been proclaimed “Arab east Jersulem” by all and sundry, in spite of the fact that the Jewish Quarter lies smack inside of “Arab” east Jerusalem. And now, the wire services are helping the Palestinians call for the Islamization of Jerusalem by denying the Jewish history of the city.

The Palestinian statement also took aim at controversy over Jerusalem, and condemned what it called a plan by Jews to “perform religious rituals” in a compound containing the al-Aqsa mosque, Islam’s third holiest site.

“The Palestinian cabinet calls on all international, Arab and Muslim elements to take responsibility for the developments in Israel and force it to put off its attempts to take over Jerusalem and Judaize it,” the statement read.

Reuters can barely bring itself to mention that Jerusalem houses Judaism’s Holy of Holies, or that it is the site of the First and Second Temples, or that it is the physical heart of Judaism, always was, and always will be. This is how Reuters describes Jews’ connection to Jerusalem:

Palestinians have warned that the tensions flaring over access to a holy compound housing the al-Aqsa mosque, an area also revered by Jews as the site of an ancient temple, could, on the background of stalled peace talks, ignite a third uprising.

And this:

Violence in Jerusalem flared on Sunday after Israel briefly shut gates leading to the compound around al-Aqsa, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, citing concerns for possible violence as hundreds of Jews held holiday prayers at the adjacent Western Wall.

The riots in Jerusalem over the last few days happened because Jews were exercising their right to pray at the Western Wall, and Palestinians decided that was cause to try to kill Jews. The Palestinians use the pretext of religious freedom by saying that they are prevented from praying at Al-Aqsa. But what they don’t mention are facts like these:

Earlier Monday, Jerusalem police explained their decision to allow only worshipers over the age of 50 into the Temple Mount, revealing that wheelbarrows filled with rocks had been discovered throughout the Aksa Mosque compound on Sunday.

Palestinians had filled the wheelbarrows with stones and bricks in preparation for riots in the Old City, police assessed.

The discovery of the wheelbarrows, in addition to intelligence information and the call on Palestinians to “come and defend” Al-Aksa, led the police to restrict entrance to the Temple Mount.

When you read about wheelbarrows full of stones, please don’t make the mistake of thinking these are gravel-sized rocks. They are brick-sized rocks, big enough to kill, and remember that the Arabs launch them from above, down on the Jews worshipping below. The missiles are potentially lethal.

And remember, if you will, why the Muslims are rioting: Because Jews dared to pray on their holy sites in Jerusalem. The Muslim narrative denies all Jewish ties to Jerusalem.

“No one has rights to the Al-Aqsa Mosque other than the Muslims. The mosque compound is Muslim, Palestinian and Arab, and Israel has no rights to the mosque or East Jerusalem,” he said

Archeological evidence notwithstanding, you’d think the morons would at least acknowledge that Islam is an offshoot of Judaism. But of course, that would be too much for Ra’ad Salah’s tiny little brain to handle.

I think Israel has the right leader, at the right time, for what is happening today. And then, of course, there’s the backing of a Certain Someone who is a bit more powerful than even the world media. I have three words for the Muslims: Am Yisrael chai.

Deal with it.

Update: Linked by Yahoo! News, 31 comments pending in the queue, and only 12 of them are anti-Jewish or anti-Israel. Must be a slow Jew-hate day.

Update two: I’m approving most of the comments, but I should like to point out to the stupidest of my commenters that when Yahoo! News links to something with the heading “Blogs about this story,” that means you’re on a blog. Not a newspaper. Not a magazine. I am not a journalist, nor do I play one on TV, so those of you whining that I’m not objective, let me ask you something my brother used to ask as a child: Are you dumb, stupid, or all three?

Update three: This is my favorite comment so far. You rock, Yectla. And are hereby designated an Apprentice of Juvenile Scorn.

09/27/2009

G’mar hatima tova

Filed under: Holidays, Religion — Meryl Yourish @ 1:30 pm

An easy fast to my Jewish readers. May we be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life for a good and peaceful year.

This will be the last blog post until tomorrow night, after I break my fast. I am as crabby as a three-year-old when I get really hungry. You don’t want to be around me until I’ve eaten. Trust me on that one.

If I have offended or wronged anyone in the last year, I apologize, and ask your forgiveness.

09/18/2009

L’shana Tovah

Filed under: Holidays, Religion — Tags: , — Meryl Yourish @ 12:00 pm

A happy and sweet New Year to all of the Jews who read my blog (and those who don’t).

Obama on Rosh Hashanah

Filed under: Religion, The One — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 7:00 am

I read the president’s message to me and my coreligionists, and I tried not to think that it was pompous, lecturing, and inappropriate—even after I watched the video, where Obama didn’t so much as crack a smile. So I decided to check on what President George W. Bush said last year on Rosh Hashanah, for comparison’s sake.

I send greetings to those around the world celebrating Rosh Hashanah.

The sound of the Shofar heralds the beginning of a new year and a time of remembrance and renewal for the Jewish people. During these holy days, men and women are called to reflect on their faith and to honor the blessings of creation.

The enduring traditions of Rosh Hashanah remind us of the deep values of faith and family that strengthen our Nation and help guide us each day. As Jewish people around the world come together to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, it is a chance to look to the new year with hope and faith.

Laura and I send our best wishes for a blessed Rosh Hashanah and shanah tovah.

That’s all of it. Now, to look at the professor-president’s take on the Jewish New Year, a time when we get together in celebration, ten days before we observe Yom Kippur, where we will repent for our sins, pray for the chance to do better (and be better) next year, and celebrate our faith and our G-d. But no holiday is too holy for the Commander-in-Chief not to put on his hat as the Lecturer-in-Chief.

As members of the Jewish faith here in America and around the world gather to celebrate the High Holidays, I want to extend my warmest wishes for this New Year. L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu – may you have a good year, and may you be inscribed for blessing in the Book of Life.

If he had stopped here, it would have been perfect. Instead, I’m pretty sure this is a stealth message to Israel about the Palestinians.

Rosh Hashanah marks the start of a new year – a time of humble prayer, joyful celebration, and hope for a new beginning. Ten days later, Yom Kippur stands as a day of reflection and repentance. And this sacred time provides not just an opportunity for individual renewal and reconciliation, but for families, communities and even nations to heal old divisions, seek new understandings, and come together to build a better world for our children and grandchildren.

At the dawn of this New Year, let us rededicate ourselves to that work. Let us reject the impulse to harden ourselves to others’ suffering, and instead make a habit of empathy – of recognizing ourselves in each other and extending our compassion to those in need.

It’s extremely insulting. He is telling Jews the world over, but I think specifically in Israel, to “reject the impulse to harden ourselves to others’ suffering”? It sounds like he’s listening to the Palestinian narrative here from his friends like Rashid Khalidi. That’s not a Jewish narrative at all, unless he’s still reading from the same damned book he read for the Cairo speech.

And is it just me, or is it that every single time Obama mentions the Jewish religion, he sounds like he’s stealing lines from the Cecil B. DeMille Exodus film? “Scourge”?

Let us resist prejudice, intolerance, and indifference in whatever forms they may take — let us stand up strongly to the scourge of anti-Semitism, which is still prevalent in far too many corners of our world.

This is an excellent suggestion. Except for one thing: Jews have absolutely no power over anti-Semitism. It is other peoples’ unhinged hatred of us. It isn’t we who should be standing up strongly against this scourge. It is the rest of the world that needs to stand up. Perhaps if the president stopped picking viciously anti-Israel advisers like Van Jones, or attending churches led by an anti-Israel pastor for twenty years, it would send the right example. Or perhaps he could have used his Cairo speech as a “teachable moment” and mentioned the scourge of anti-Semitism in the Arab world, instead of sticking to the Arab party line that the Holocaust is the reason that Israel was created.

Let us work to extend the rights and freedoms so many of us enjoy to all the world’s citizens – to speak and worship freely; to live free from violence and oppression; to make of our lives what we will.

More stealth “treat the Palestinians right” messaging, if you ask me—or perhaps just his usual boring, annoying, lecturing. And of course, it would not be an Obama speech if it wasn’t all about The One:

And let us work to achieve lasting peace and security for the state of Israel, so that the Jewish state is fully accepted by its neighbors, and its children can live their dreams free from fear. That is why my Administration is actively pursuing the lasting peace that has eluded Israel and its Arab neighbors for so long.

Note that there is another transposition of responsibility here: Israel must work to be accepted by its neighbors. It isn’t that Israel must be accepted by her neighbors by virtue of the UN resolution that established the modern state of Israel, or by the fact that Israel exists, and will not be leaving this planet anytime soon. It is Israel that must do the work, once Obama has managed to achieve lasting peace for her.

Here’s the rest of the message that would have worked for me, even with its tinge of pomposity, because tikkun olam (repairing the world) is a theme of Rosh Hashanah:

Throughout history, the Jewish people have been, in the words of the Prophet Isaiah, “a light unto the nations.” Through an abiding commitment to faith, family, and justice, Jews have overcome extraordinary adversity, holding fast to the hope of a better tomorrow.

In this season of renewal, we celebrate that spirit; we honor a great and ancient faith; and we rededicate ourselves to the work of repairing this world.

Michelle and I wish all who celebrate Rosh Hashanah a healthy, peaceful and sweet New Year.

He had a good first graph. And a good last three. The rest of this speech is arrogant, overreaching, preachy, wrongheaded, and, well, annoying. And there’s the problem he has with the transposition of responsibility.

But other than that, hey, the hectorer-in-chief did a great job.

09/17/2009

Muslim ERA Watch, Egypt version

Filed under: Feminism, Religion — Tags: , — Meryl Yourish @ 12:00 pm

Ladies of Egypt, rejoice! You can wear pants—BUT—they can’t be tight. Or see-through. Or stretch pants.

Egypt’s top Islamic authority defended women’s rights to wear trousers in public following a high profile court case in neighboring Sudan were women were flogged for dressing in pants, the local press reported Wednesday.

Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa said in response to a question during a public lecture that trousers covering women’s bodies are permitted, though they should be loose and not see through. He specified that “stretch” pants were in particular unacceptable.

Other than that, feel free to join in with the rest of the modern women and wear long, loose, shapeless, flowing pants.

Oh, wait. That’s only women in yoga classes.

Or wearing pajamas.

But hey, you go, girls! Wear that modern hijab and feel liberated!

09/14/2009

J-Street: The lobby that isn’t

Filed under: Israel, Media Bias, Religion — Tags: , — Meryl Yourish @ 11:30 am

One of the things that struck me in the New York Times’ hagiography of J-Street is this quote:

The average age of the dozen or so staff members is about 30. Ben-Ami speaks for, and to, this post-Holocaust generation. “They’re all intermarried,” he says. “They’re all doing Buddhist seders.”

And of course, this follows logically:

They are, he adds, baffled by the notion of “Israel as the place you can always count on when they come to get you.”

So we have Jews that aren’t very Jewish running a pro-Israel lobby group that isn’t very pro-Israel. It makes a crazy kind of sense. But of course, it’s also an influential lobby that isn’t very influential. And a representative group that isn’t really representative.

But if you count J-Street as the Buddhist, intermarrying, Arab-supported segment of the Israel Lobby, it all works.

(Celebrating Passover with idolatry. Wow. That’s a new low.)

09/07/2009

Monday SNB

Filed under: Feminism, Gaza, Hamas, Iran, Religion — Meryl Yourish @ 9:05 am

Yeah, sure. And you’ve perfected the flying carpet, too: Iran says it’s developed weapons systems that will intercept stealth missiles. I think I can still hear the peals of laughter from the Pentagon over this report.

Hamas backs off on the hijab for lawyers—for now: Apparently Hamas is not entirely ignorant of public relations. Their version of a supreme court said that female lawyers only have to “dress modestly,” not wear a headscarf when they appear in court. Give them time. They’ll come back with another try.

Muslim ERA watch: Sudan shows its modernity by fining a woman for wearing pants. This is actually good news. She was supposed to be whipped for her audacity. Just for comparison’s sake, women in Israel can wear pants freely and without punishment. But Israel is the country that women’s groups protest.

British Christians protest book slamming Jesus: Watch out, British Christians are about to erupt in fury over a book saying that Jesus isn’t the son of God. Expect riots, death, destruction—oh, no, wait. Expect sternly worded letters of protest. And people saying they won’t buy the book. (Judging by so many of the comments in British newspapers and blogs, there will also be a strong contingent of atheists cheering the author on.)

The Iranian revolution continues: Whoa. Khatami and Moussavi are on the move again, and the news media have decided that Iran is news again. Wonder if they’ll run all those hagiographic news articles on Ahmadinejad when he hits New York for the UN session later this month? That should be a treat—Ghaddafy, Mad Mahmoud, and probably Chavez. It’s the Triple Crown of America-hating nutjobs!

08/24/2009

Monday morning snark news briefs

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, Hamas, News Briefs, Religion, United Nations — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 9:00 am

The Talibanization of Gaza continues: Hamas is going to expel girls for not wearing head coverings and full-length robes to school. They’ve also begun to segregate the sexes. No icky boys teaching girls; no icky girls teaching boys. Anyone want to start a pool on when the Mutaween squads hit the streets?

A trip down memory lane: Remember this op-ed in the Times after Hamas took over Gaza? It’s titled “What Hamas Wants.”

We want to get children back to school, get basic services functioning again, and provide long-term economic gains for our people.

Our stated aim when we won the election was to effect reform, end corruption and bring economic prosperity to our people. Our sole focus is Palestinian rights and good governance. We now hope to create a climate of peace and tranquillity within our community that will pave the way for an end to internal strife.

The fox in the UN henhouse: I know you’re going to be shocked to discover that one of the “fact-finders” on the Goldstone Commission published a virulently anti-Israel letter insisting that Israel had no right to self-defense from Hamas rockets. And while I have the UN Watch in my blogroll, I have no hope at all that their letter will ruffle so much as a feather at the UN—your international home of anti-semitism masquerading as anti-Israelism.

Swedish paper double-dog-dares Israel to prove that they’re not harvesting organs: Yes, the Aftonbladet published a second article, this time with even more non-evidence: They went back and asked the Palestinians if they’re really, really, really sure that the IDF stole their son’s organs. Now that’s reporting!

08/23/2009

Zionists preparing to steal more organs

Filed under: Juvenile Scorn, Religion — Meryl Yourish @ 10:36 am

Uh-oh, world, watch out. Religious Jews, some of whom are generally reluctant to donate organs, have defined halacha (religious law) for organ donation.

Now Jews will have a legal religious reason to steal organs from non-Jews. Palestinians, beware of waking up in bathtubs full of ice with your kidney missing!

08/20/2009

Sweden’s double standard on freedom of the press

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Israeli Double Standard Time, Religion, World — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 9:30 am

There is a decided double standard in the Sweden Foreign Ministry when it comes to freedom of the press, particularly in response to running anti-Semitic tropes in a major Swedish daily. Representatives of the Swedish government are standing up for freedom of the Swedish press, even the freedom to publish a blood libel like the one that says IDF soldiers kidnap Palestinians and harvest their organs.

Aftonbladet editor Jan Helin said: “It’s deeply unpleasant and sad to see such a strong propaganda machine using centuries-old anti-Semitic images in an apparent attempt to get an obviously topical issue off the table.

[...] Helin called it an opinion piece raising questions of Israel in the context of a suspected link to Israel in that US case. He denied any suggestion of anti-Semitism from his paper.

Oh, so now it’s an opinion piece. Good tactic. The author has stated that he doesn’t know if the charges are true, but he decided to go with them anyway. And neither he nor his editor think that charges of anti-Semitism are in order. Why, they wonder, are Israelis so touchy? This is just a criticism of the IDF. Right?

Take a look at this image of Der Stürmer. This is the classic blood libel against the Jews, that we drink the blood of Christians and use it in our rituals. (Larger image in my previous post.)

Photo of anti-Semitic Nazi rag with blood libel image

Photo of anti-Semitic Nazi rag with blood libel image

Now, why on earth would we accuse a Swedish newspaper of using anti-Semitic blood libel tropes in its story about the IDF kidnapping Palestinians and stealing their organs?

The Swedish Foreign Ministry is doubling down on the freedom of speech aspect while ignoring the “lying about the IDF” aspect. Witness:

Sweden’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday said a response by the Swedish Embassy in Israel to a report by the Aftonbladet news saying IDF soldiers killed Palestinians in order to harvest their organs does not represent the government’s stance.

The embassy had stated that the report was “appalling”. But the Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman said, “The embassy in Tel Aviv responded in accordance to Israeli public opinion, however the Swedish government is committed to freedom of the press.”

[...] Another Swedish government spokesperson, Anders Jorle said, “The Foreign Ministry would not have acted in the same way” as the ambassador.

Interesting response. Especially when you consider the Swedish Foreign Ministry’s response to another controversy, this one regarding cartoons about Mohammed.

On February 5, Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Laila Freivalds stated the following in an interview:[24] We support the freedom of speech, that I think is very clear. But at the same time it is important to say that with this freedom comes a certain responsibility, and it could be objectionable to act in a way that insults people.

There was also the Swedish government’s response to a political party in Sweden holding a Mohammed cartoon contest in response to the Mohammed cartoon controversy. One of the cartoons displayed on the website portrayed Mohammed as a dog.

A Swedish foreign ministry spokeswoman told Sweden’s English-language The Local that the diplomat had apologized for any hurt feelings the publication may have caused.

Freivalds shut down the website and later lied about it, which ultimately caused her resignation. But note the difference in tone about the freedom to offend—it’s different when offending Muslims, apparently.

Let us compare and contrast. On the Mohammed-as-dog cartoon:

Swedish Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anna Björkander told The Local it had been a “misunderstanding” on the part of the Pakistanis to conclude that the government fully shared the views of the Muslim community.

Björkander added, however: “The Chargé d’Affaires said he was sorry if the publication had hurt Muslim feelings.”

On the publication of a false story that the IDF kidnaps Palestinians and steals their organs:

But the Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman said, “The embassy in Tel Aviv responded in accordance to Israeli public opinion, however the Swedish government is committed to freedom of the press.”

She added that Israel had not issued an official complaint on the report.

Another Swedish government spokesperson, Anders Jorle said, “The Foreign Ministry would not have acted in the same way” as the ambassador.

Barry Rubin wrote a tongue-in-cheek essay that has a solution to all of Israel’s problems: Jews should act like Muslims, and riot and protest violently every offense, real or imagined. The sad thing is: He’s probably right about the results. Just look at the difference between Sweden’s response to this issue. If Sweden were as scared of Jews as they are of Muslims….

08/19/2009

What if they published a blood libel and nobody rioted?

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Religion — Tags: , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 11:30 am

Compare and contrast:

A Swedish newspaper publishes a blood libel, accusing Israelis of taking (and selling) organs from Palestinians. Israelis are outraged. They file paperwork.

Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon filed a formal grievance with the Swedish government Wednesday following a Stockholm newspaper’s report accusing Israel of trading in the stolen organs of Palestinians.

They ask the Swedish government to condemn the hateful lies.

“I demand the Swedish government condemn this groundless article,” said Ayalon.

They threaten to summon the Swedish ambassador.

The Foreign Ministry is reportedly considering summoning the Swedish ambassador and reproving him for his government policies, “Which allow such a hateful publication to go without censure.”

Ouch. Plus, there’s a very angry comment in my previous post (although I seriously doubt any prosecution could occur, as I’m unclear as to what Israeli laws were broken by the publication of this article).

Now, let’s think of another instance where a Nordic nation published something in a newspaper that stirred up controversy. Like, the publishing of a dozen Mohammed cartoons.

Danish Muslim organizations, who objected to the depictions, responded by holding public protests attempting to raise awareness of Jyllands-Posten’s publication. Further examples of the cartoons were soon reprinted in newspapers in more than fifty other countries, further deepening the controversy.

This led to protests across the Muslim world, some of which escalated into violence with police firing on the crowds (resulting in more than 100 deaths, altogether),[1] including setting fire to the Danish Embassies in Syria, Lebanon and Iran, storming European buildings, and desecrating the Danish, Dutch, Norwegian and German flags in Gaza City. While a number of Muslim leaders called for protesters to remain peaceful, other Muslim leaders across the globe, including Mahmoud al-Zahar of Hamas, issued death threats.[2][3] Various groups, primarily in the Western world, responded by endorsing the Danish policies, including “Buy Danish” campaigns and other displays of support. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen described the controversy as Denmark’s worst international crisis since World War II.[4]

Funny how the most horrific things get published about Jews, in so many different publications, in so many different nations, so often, and yet, Jews don’t set fire to cars or riot or murder people in protest. And of course, there are the usual suspects who will also say that Jews are “overreacting” when they get upset about lies like this one.

It’s telling that the author was interviewed on Israeli radio, and even said that he had no clue whether the allegations were true. But that didn’t stop him from publishing them.

Interviewed on Israel Radio on Wednesday, Bostrom said he was worried by the allegations he reported but could not vouch for their accuracy.

“It concerns me, to the extent that I want it to be investigated, that’s true. But whether it’s true or not – I have no idea, I have no clue,” he told the station.

That’s how it works these days. Prove you didn’t kidnap Palestinians and steal their organs, Israel. Bostrom is shocked, shocked I say, at being called an anti-Semite. He’s not anti-Semitic. Just ask him.

I mentioned Der Stürmer in my last post. Here’s an image that Bostrom would probably approve (after stating that he’d want it to be investigated whether or not Jews drain Christian children’s blood and drink it):

Photo of anti-Semitic Nazi rag with blood libel image

Photo of anti-Semitic Nazi propaganda rag Der Stürmer blood libel

Then and now. There’s not much difference. This is why people like Bibi Netanyahu warn that it’s 1939 all over again. The constant demonization and dehumanization of Israelis is sounding a drum that we’ve heard before. The difference, of course, is that this time, we Jews are armed and able to protect ourselves.

Oh, and we’ll write really nasty posts about you when you lie about us. Fear us.

08/10/2009

Monday SNB

Filed under: AP Media Bias, Gaza, Israel, Religion, Terrorism, The One, palestinian politics — Tags: , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 9:00 am

Funny how the AP keeps on missing these tidbits: Fatah has approved adding “the right to resist occupation in all its forms” to its new platform. (This is on top of insising that all of Jerusalem is theirs.) They further explain:

“we won’t abandon any of our options, and we believe that resistance, in all forms, is a legitimate right of occupied people in confronting their occupiers.”

And yet, we never seem to see the AP articles that emphasize the Palestinian refusal to compromise. Only Israel’s. Funny, that.

What AP media bias? Yesterday, Palestinians fired mortars at the Erez crossing while sick Palestinians were being transferred from Palestinian ambulances to Israeli ones. So Israel bombed a smuggling tunnel (should have bombed a lot more of them). The AP, which can’t seem to notice that Fatah is turning into Hamas Lite, found its voice again, against Israel. The headline: Israeli warplanes bomb tunnel along Gaza border. Just in case you thought maybe it was sightseeing planes that bombed the tunnel.

The “Judaization” of Jerusalem includes rebuilding synagogues: Jews rebuilt a synagogue that was built in Jerusalem in 1867, but because it’s on the “wrong” side of the line, Ehud Barak has come under fire for attending the ceremony to welcome the return of the Torah to a 142-year-old Jewish house of worship. Jews were forced out of there in 1938, and yet, we never seem to read about that aspect of Jerusalem anywhere but in the Jewish press. The synagogue is 100 yards from the Temple Mount. And it was nearly destroyed, of course, when Jordan controlled Jerusalem from 1948 to 1967. Sure, give Jerusalem back to the Muslims. Because they did such a great job safeguarding other religious sites before.

Bibi to Beirut: L’etat, c’est Hezbullah. Benjamin Netanyahu warned Lebanon that Israel will hold the entire country responsible for whatever Hezbullah does. Which makes sense, considering that Druze leader Walid Jumblatt has thrown in with Hezbullah and declared that he was wrong about Iran, so they’re going to be making policy with a voting majority soon. Right now, it’s just a war of words. I hope it stays that way, but it looks like Iran is placing its ducks in a row to respond to any attack on its nuclear facilities. And speaking of Iran:

Iran to Obama: No fist unclenching until we say so. Iran is bent on running out the clock. I know my regular readers are going to be shocked to hear this, but they’re not going to adhere to any U.S. deadline for talks—not even the one set by The One. And the clock ticks closer to Israeli action. Say, Iranian opposition: Faster, please. Oh, wait. They’re all in jail now.

07/31/2009

Friday SNB

Filed under: Hamas, Israel, Pop Culture, Religion, Syria — Meryl Yourish @ 10:00 am

One can only hope: Hamas threatens to boycott Palestinian unity talks. I’m rooting for Hamas in this one.

Egyptian border guards murder refugee, UN doesn’t care: If Israel were doing this, of course, there would be UN resolutions. And yet, it’s perfectly okay for Egyptians to continue to murder African refugees. I won’t hold my breath waiting for world condemnation.

Obama’s wising up? President Obama extended sanctions on Syria. Good for him.

Living in the mystical world: Madonna’s treatise on Kabbalah in Ynet, just because I love you all and want you to suffer as much as I did when I read it. Truthfully, I think it’s not a bad thing to have someone famous actually liking Israel, regardless of how or why she does. No, she’s not a role model. But she does influence the kiddies, and if she likes something, they like something. It’s win-win. It’s like her adopting African kids. No matter what the real reasons, those children go from poverty to princehood in 2.8. Good for them, good for her. I guess all this is just to say: You know, I kinda like her. And I really love “La Isla Bonita.” That’s my favorite of her songs.

07/26/2009

Sunday snarky briefs

Filed under: Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, News Briefs, Religion, Syria, Terrorism — Meryl Yourish @ 9:13 am

Palestinian ERA watch: Hamastan continues apace, with the latest being a ruling by a Gaza judge insisting that women lawyers all wear hijabs. But remember, they’re doing it voluntarily, and it’s an empowering thing. There is no compulsion under Islam.

Sing Hallelujah for me, Lennie. Or: If at first you don’t succeed, try to force someone to accede to your point of view. The same jackasses who forced the cancellation of Leonard Cohen’s (mostly symbolic) concert in Ramallah are protesting his concert in Ireland. Why? Because they want him not to play in Israel. Once again, I must point out to these morons that a) Cohen is Jewish and b) Cohen is religious. Rotsa ruck, rokers. You’ll need it.

Settlement near on settlements? Really, there’s going to be a settlement on the settlement issue. (Why, yes, I like typing that phrase a lot. Settlement on settlements! Settlement on settlements!) Apparently, the Obama administration has wised up to the fact that if they’ve lost the Israeli left on Jerusalem, they really are taking the anti-Israel position. So there is some kind of freeze being negotiated that will not include “natural growth.” We’ll see how this goes.

Hi, my name is America, and I’m a terrorholic. Seriously? I mean, seriously? George Mitchell says the U.S. wants Syria’s help in solving the Palestinian-Israel problem? Because, it’s not like he doesn’t financially and materially support Israel’s enemies, so once again, I must ask: Seriously? This effer is responsible for the deaths of Americans in Iraq, the deaths of Americans in Israel by proxy via terror groups, and the deaths of Israelis all around. And Mitchell wants his help in making peace? Seriously?

That’s funny, I thought Hamas couldn’t control the rocketeers: The New York Times publishes an article profiling Hamas’ change from rockets to PR initiatives (see? They’re just like us!) and manages to prove, yet again, that Hamas controls utterly the firing of rockets and mortars from the Gaza Strip. But the next time there is a rocket attack and Israeli retaliates, watch for the Times to buy into the bullshit that it was a “rogue group” that fired the rockets. P.S.: They’re not fooling anyone. But everyone will pretend they are, since it’s always Israel’s fault.

Libya wants Lockerbie bomber freed on humanitarian grounds: See, here’s how it is. The poor terrorist is dying, so the fact that he murdered 259 people shouldn’t be taken into account as you consider his release from prison to die at home with his family. Because that’s how all 259 people died, right? Well, the ones on the ground, anyway. I have a suggestion. Free the bomber only if Muammar Ghadafi takes his place.

Well, that’ll piss off the left: 50 million Christians support Israel? Wow, that’s a lot. I can name one in particular that doesn’t (why yes, that means you, Jimmah Carter), and a few more like PCUSA’s leadership, but all in all, I think it makes a lot of sense for Christians to support Israel. Hello, parent religion here. (But you can’t call me Mom.) Just remember one thing, my Christian friends: Try to convert Jews and you’re grounded. (Everyone else is fair game.)

And I’m off to the gym.

07/23/2009

Mustaf Jama – when a niqab doesn’t help

Filed under: Religion, World — SnoopyTheGoon @ 8:00 am

Apparently there still are some cases when the approved dressing code for a Muslim woman doesn’t help. Not it the long run, at least.

A gangster who fled to his native Somalia, after taking part in a bungled robbery in Bradford in which Pc Sharon Beshenivsky was shot dead, was jailed for life today.

Here is a mug shot of the vermin:


He went into hiding in Somaliland but was brought back to the UK to face justice in 2007 after an undercover operation to smuggle him out of Africa.

Good job and kudos to whoever did it. But back to the niqab: the article linked above doesn’t mention the story of Jama’s escape.

Jama was able to sneak on to an international flight at Heathrow dressed in a niqab despite extensive publicity about this murder. His photograph had been circulated to every police force, port and airport in the country. Had he been asked to reveal his face he would have been detected in a moment.

Well, I hope that the British prison will be able to wipe the smile from his face now.

And he could continue wearing the niqab in the prison – could be a good idea…

Cross-posted at SimplyJews

07/17/2009

Thursday Snark News

Filed under: Gaza, Israeli Double Standard Time, Lebanon, News Briefs, Religion, Terrorism, The One — Tags: , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 7:00 am

Religion of Peace blows up two more hotels: Indonesia again, but don’t worry—it’s just a tiny minority of extremists doing all the kabooms.

Palestinians answer Hillary’s request with a kassam rocket: Looks like Hillary’s plea to the Palestinians to refrain from any actions that would make peace more difficult is working. The Palestinians launched a kassam at Southern Israel, because now they’re going to blame Israel for taking action against it. And considering that Netanyahu has stated that he will not tolerate so much as a dribble, expect some tunnels to go boom.

Israel wants UNIFIL to do what? Israel is asking for UNIFIL’s report on the rocket storage depot in southern Lebanon that blew up this week. UNIFIL doesn’t so much as mention the explosion on its site. Ban Ki-Moon hasn’t said anything about the violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. The General Assembly is not calling for an emergency session to vote on a resolution condemning Hezbollah’s overt violation of 1701. And the Security Council is silent. What’s that you say? It’s a day that ends with a “y,” so it’s Israeli Double Standard Time? Well. I can see you’ve been reading this blog for a long time.

Syria to U.S.: We want the entire Golan. Meryl to Syria [singing]: You can’t always get what you want.

Neturei Karta guarantee their place in Dante’s Seventh Circle: Okay, not really, but it’s a good metaphor, because any Jew that works so hard for Israel’s enemies—they’re meeting Haniyeh, now, and bringing him little statues of Al Aqsa and the Dome of the Mosque, how sweet—cannot possibly be on G-d’s good side. Really, I detest these people more than I detest almost anyone else in the world, except pedophiles. And even that one is a close call. I know there’s no hell in Judaism, but for the Nutty Karta, I’d make an exception.

Senate votes big expansion of federal hate crimes—Can we get a Constitutional challenge, please? Then again, forget about it. Sotomayor is going to be approved, no way is the Supreme Court going to find hate crime laws unconstitutional. Add this to the list of things I’ve changed my mind about since moving to Virginia: I no longer believe hate crimes should be legislated, at all. A crime is a crime is a crime.

Jake Tapper, will you marry me? If the man continues to tell the truth about Obama, I’m simply going to have to have him.

At a rally in Holmdel, New Jersey, today, President Obama continued making a promise about health care reform that he has acknowledged isn’t literally true.

Holmdel. Feh. Where was he, in the Garden State Arts Center? Whoops, sorry, they changed its name to the PNC Arts Center. And yes, he was. You know, I saw a much better act last time I was there. Lilith Fair. The Pretenders, Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow. All of whom probably voted for Obama, come to think of it (except McLachlan, she’s Canadian). But I digress. Tapper:

“Let me be exactly clear about what health care reform means to you,” the president told residents of the Garden State. “First of all, if you’ve got health insurance, you like your doctors, you like your plan, you can keep your doctor, you can keep your plan. Nobody is talking about taking that away from you.”

But last month, as the president acknowledged during a press conference, he doesn’t literally mean that you are guaranteed to be able to keep your health care plan, and your doctor, if and when health care reform passes.

What? Obama lying again? Say it isn’t so! As for the price tag? Go watch Tapper’s report.

Don’t let him succeed. Call your Senator.

07/15/2009

Wednesday Snark News Briefs

Filed under: Israel, News Briefs, Religion, The One, World, palestinian politics — Tags: — Meryl Yourish @ 8:00 am

Cognitive dissonance: A KKKer hides from the law in Israel? Okay, on a scale of one to ten, the weirdness factor here is seven hundred. I mean, really—a kluxer on the run from the law goes and hides in Israel. Because, see, it’s not like Israel would notice a neo-Nazi hanging around, right? Wrong. But it gets weirder. He has an Israeli girlfriend. And he loves Israelis. Cue Twilight Zone theme. Although it could just be an excuse:

“When I asked him what he was doing in Israel he said he had met the most amazing people he’d ever seen in his life here,” the official recounted.

[...] One source said his story was dubious as the girlfriend had not appealed to the authorities in order to legalize his stay in Israel due to the pregnancy.

Uh-huh. Push the weirdness meter up to eight. Hundred.

Pay no attention to that explosion in Southern Lebanon: Why, yes, Hezbullah is violating UNSCR 1701. Why, no, there will be no outcry from human rights organizations. Arms cache blew up? So what? They can’t blame Israel for it, so nobody cares.

Well, they weren’t very good then, were they? Two French security advisers, in Somalia to train Somali forces, were captured. No word whether their equipment included white flags or not.

This week’s Keen Grasp of the Obvious Award goes to: Tony Blair, for noticing that the world is unfair to Israel. Next week, Blair’s going to figure out it’s because Israel is full of Jews.

Keen Grasp of the Obvious Runner-up Award goes to: The One. Obama hints Iranian elections limit chances for dialogue. Gee. Ya think? Really? No. I don’t believe it!

Palestinians to Leonard Cohen: You’re too Jewish to peform in “Palestine.” Okay, so really, they wanted him to boycott Israel and refuse to play in Tel Aviv, which is, uh, why he’s coming to Israel. So he refused. Because he’s an observant Jew. So rather than take what they could get, they told him to get lost. I’m guessing they never listened to his music.

We can. (I really like the Rufus Wainwright version, too.)

And for purists: The original Cohen.

Can you tell I really like this song?

06/24/2009

Saudi ERA Watch, AP whitewash edition

Filed under: AP Media Bias, Feminism, Religion, Saudi Arabia — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 12:00 pm

How cool is this? Wow, a member of the Saudi royal family says he sure does hope that someday, little girls in Saudi Arabia can grow up to play sports! (But not with men. Never with men.)

Appealing to a powerful Saudi prince, an 8-year-old girl asked why she was not allowed to play sports in school like boys. She got an unexpected response: The prince said he hoped government schools for girls would allow playing fields.

And how cool is this? The AP is taking this mealy-mouthed, patronizing anti-feminist pap and pushing it like it’s the equivalent of America’s Title IX.

The stand taken by Prince Khaled al-Faisal, governor of the holy city of Mecca and one of the most senior second-generation members of the royal family, on the controversial issue is the strongest official endorsement so far of women’s sports and a sign the government may be tilting toward opening up on that front.

And exactly why is it such obvious bullshit? Because in the next breath, the AP reports this:

Physical education classes are banned in state-run girls schools in conservative Saudi Arabia. Saudi female athletes are not allowed to participate in the Olympics. Women’s games and marathons have been canceled when the powerful clergy get wind of them. And some clerics even argue that running and jumping can damage a woman’s hymen and ruin her chances of getting married.

“Conservative”? Ronald Reagan was a conservative. A better description of Saudi Arabia would be “feudal.” Except I’m pretty sure that women had more rights in feudal Europe than they have in modern Saudi Arabia. And lest you think that the prince was suggesting any form of equality for women, think again:

According to local newspapers, the 8-year-old girl told Khaled: “I ask myself why is it that only boys can play sports and have courts while we girls don’t have anything?”

“I hope to see sports courts for girls inside girls’ schools,” the prince responded, according to Al-Hayat newspaper.

He said if this were to happen, it will be in coordination with the Education Ministry and “according to certain mechanisms that take into consideration women’s privacy in this country.”

Yes, the fabled privacy excuse. Because given half the chance, women in Muslim lands won’t throw off the shackles of repression and try to live normal lives. Oh, wait. Yes, they will (cf: Afghanistan, Iraq).

But when you live with medieval freaks like these, well, your choices are limited:

A statement issued by three senior clerics last month lashed out at Saudis who demand the opening of more gyms for women, saying such a move would “open the doors wide for spreading decadence.”

“It is well-known that only women with no shame will go to these clubs,” said the statement signed by clerics Abdul-Rahman al-Barrack, Abdul-Aziz al-Rajihi and Abdullah bin Jibrin.

In a recent column in Al-Watan newspaper, Sheik Abdullah al-Mani, an adviser at the royal court, said virgins should think twice before engaging in sports.

“Soccer or basketball require running and jumping and these could damage (a woman’s) the hymen,” he wrote. “If she marries, her husband will … think that her hymen was destroyed as a result of an (immoral) action.”

“He will either divorce her or lose confidence in her chastity,” he added.

But sure, let’s respect their culture and traditions. Because practices like these simply cry out for respect.

Shyeah.

06/11/2009

CAIR doesn’t really care

Filed under: AP Media Bias, Anti-Semitism, Religion — Meryl Yourish @ 9:00 am

The AP laps up everything that CAIR gives them, even when CAIR lies about caring about anti-Semitism.

Added to the lead of the AP news article on the Holocaust Museum shooting are these words:

The assailant was hospitalized in critical condition, leaving behind a sprawling investigation by federal and local law enforcement and expressions of shock from the Israeli government and a prominent Muslim organization.

A quick trip to CAIR’s website finds this:

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 6/10/09) – A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today condemned a shooting incident at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., during which a security guard and the alleged gunman were reportedly wounded.

The AP takes the quote word for word out of CAIR’s press release, and puts it right after the quote from the Israeli government. Please note the placement, because it is done deliberately to evoke a narrative: Muslims condemn this anti-Semitic attack. And note that in the full quote, CAIR can’t simply condemn anti-Semitism. They don’t stand simply with the Jewish community over this attack on Jews. They make it about themselves.

In a statement from Israel’s government, Information and Diaspora Minister Yuli Edelstein said the shooting was “further proof that anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial have not passed from the world.”

And the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a prominent American Muslim organization, said in a statement, “We condemn this apparent bias-motivated attack and stand with the Jewish community and with Americans of all faiths in repudiating the kind of hatred and intolerance that can lead to such disturbing incidents.”

Funny, but you don’t see CAIR condemning Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust conferences, or regular calls to destroy Israel. You do find CAIR as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation trial, however. That trial ended in conviction, as well as extremely long sentences for the defendants.

As for the reason CAIR’s condemnations are never exactly quite right, well, take a look at the video at this link. CAIR was founded by Muslims with links to terrorist organizations.

And last, the AP still hasn’t bothered to fact-check the “prominence” of CAIR:

According to tax documents obtained by The Times, the number of reported members spiraled down from more than 29,000 in 2000 to less than 1,700 in 2006, a loss of membership that caused the Muslim rights group’s annual income from dues to drop from $732,765 in 2000, when yearly dues cost $25, to $58,750 last year, when the group charged $35.

The organization instead is relying on about two dozen individual donors a year to contribute the majority of the money for CAIR’s budget, which reached nearly $3 million last year.

CAIR, of course, will not divulge the names of their donors. Gee. I wonder why.

06/05/2009

Analysis: mainstreaming Jewish conspiracy theories

Filed under: AP Media Bias, Israeli Double Standard Time, Religion — Meryl Yourish @ 8:00 am

If you were to read this without knowing the source, where would you suspect it originated? The Arab News? Al-Ahram? Palestinian propaganda rags?

Among the long list of problems that cloud American relations with the Islamic world, none is more troubling in the Muslim streets and halls of power than U.S. ties to Israel and massive support for the Jewish state in the heart of the Arab Middle East.

On that, Obama gave no ground, declaring U.S. bonds with Israel “unbreakable.”

But as he presses Netanyahu for concessions, Obama has to be looking over his shoulder toward the powerful Israeli lobby in the United States and the many deeply conservative Christian organizations that back Israeli policy without question. Both can make big political trouble for an American president who tips too far from Israel.

Obama appears willing to gamble that pressure on Netanyahu will not produce damaging blowback, especially with more than three years left before the next U.S. presidential election.

Try again. It’s the AP anaylsis by Steven Hurst. And it’s become increasingly mainstream to blame The Israel Lobby for the lack of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Walt and Mearsheimer, Jimmy Carter, and their team of anti-Israel crybabies have done their job, and done it well. They constantly hammered on the theme that they’re the ones being victimized by The Israel Lobby™, all the while getting their views in op-eds in all of the major news media, and their anti-Israel treatises published and widely distributed. They’ve shifted the blame from Muslim rejectionism to—Israeli settlements.

It’s not the terrorism that prevents peace. It’s not the incitement that goes on daily. It’s not the refusal of the Palestinians, or indeed, any of the Middle East Muslims, to negotiate rather than to make demands (cf: Saudi peace plan, Abbas’ refusal to talk to Netanyahu, Amr Moussa, etc., etc, etc.). It’s not the Palestinian refusal to acknowledge the Jewish origins of Israel (and particularly Jerusalem and the Temple Mount). It’s not the Palestinian refusal to accept a Jewish state as a Jewish state.

No, it’s the settlements. And the Israel Lobby. And the Obama team has apparently completely bought into the settlements argument.

At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel’s right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine’s. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.

So what’s Hurst’s analysis on this point?

An Israeli government statement issued after Obama spoke ignored his calls for a settlement freeze and the creation of an independent Palestinian state – demands that the hawkish Netanyahu continues to reject.

“We share President Obama’s hope that the American effort heralds the beginning of a new era that will bring about an end to the conflict,” the statement said, noting that Israel’s security must be guaranteed.

Do you see the narrative here? Bibi put out a positive statement about an end to the Palestinian conflict, and the AP slams Israel for wanting security guarantees—as if Israel didn’t have a constant threat of terrorism and attacks hanging over her head on a daily basis. But since he didn’t immediately line up behind Obama to agree that Jerusalem should be an international city (read between the lines), that “hawkish” Netanyahu “ignored” Obama and “rejects” the creation of a Palestinian state.

But Obama dwelled most heavily on an Arab-Israeli peace. He spoke 6,000 words in Thursday’s speech, 1,000 about the Mideast conflict.

Yeah, funny how that happens to the best of us. It’s almost like the AP article concentrated entirely on the Israeli side of the problem, and not at all on the Palestinian side.

And the last word? Well. It’s that scary Israel Lobby meme:

“It is easy to point fingers,” the president said. “But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: The only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.”

Easy to say. Harder is overcoming six decades of hatred and bloodshed, and the entrenched interests that eventually will face Obama at home.

The hatred and bloodshed is coming from mostly one side. Granted, Israel is not a nation of saints. But the Muslim nations surrounding Israel went to war five times since 1948 to try to destroy her.

Yes, it’s very easy to point fingers. That’s exactly what the anti-Israel media is doing.

06/04/2009

One quick comment on the Cairo speech

Filed under: Religion, The One — Meryl Yourish @ 11:00 am

I will have more to say after work, but here’s something to chew on:

The Holy Koran tells us, “O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another.”

The Talmud tells us: “The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace.”

The Holy Bible tells us, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God’s vision. Now, that must be our work here on Earth. Thank you. And may God’s peace be upon you.

Why is it that Obama could easily find references to peace in Jewish and Christian texts, but the Koran quote does not contain the word “peace”? I’m not the Islam scholar. But that conclusion makes me wonder if there are any quotes from the Koran using the word “peace” that don’t restrict it to Muslims only.

06/03/2009

Honesty is the best policy, Israeli Exception Clause version

Filed under: Israeli Double Standard Time, Juvenile Scorn, Religion, Saudi Arabia — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 10:00 am

“Part of being a good friend is being honest,” Mr. Obama said in an interview with NPR News. “And I think there have been times where we are not as honest as we should be about the fact that the current direction, the current trajectory, in the region is profoundly negative, not only for Israeli interests but also U.S. interests.

So let’s hear Obama get honest with the Saudis, with the Egyptians, with the Palestinians, with the rest of the Arab Muslims. Then let’s hear him get honest with the Pakistani Muslims, with the Muslims in the Phillipines, with the Muslims in China, Russia, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Let’s hear him honestly tell Muslims that:

  • Non-Muslims get to worship whom and what they please. Suck it up.
  • You do not get to dictate to non-Muslims that you will kill them if they “offend” your infantile sensibilities about your religion
  • In that spirit, rational people do not riot over perceived slights to their holy books and figures
  • Non-Muslims are not lesser beings who deserve fewer rights than Muslims
  • Non-Muslims have the right to worship in peace in Muslim nations, (and in non-Muslim nations where there are significant Muslim populations)
  • Jews lived in Israel thousands of years before Mohammed showed his face in the Saudi desert, and Israel is the ancestral home of the Jews.
  • Likewise, Jerusalem is the ancient heart of Judaism. Suck it up.
  • Israel is a Jewish state. Suck that up, too.
  • Women are, and should be treated as, the equal of men. Welcome to the 21st century.
  • Binding United Nations resolutions are binding on all nations, not just on Israel and the West.
  • Really, those of us who are non-Muslim are not the least bit interested in your fictional Caliphate. Plans for world domination are so 20th century. Lose the yearning for the good old days; they’re gone forever. Learn a skill. You’ll achieve more.
  • To the OIC on the UN Human Rights Council: Try looking at your own backyards first before constantly slamming Israel. I sincerely doubt your nations would pass muster even on animal cruelty issues, let alone human rights.
  • To the Arab and Muslim dictators, kings, princes, emirs, autocrats, and kleptocrats: Goose. Gander. If Palestinians should have self-rule, and free elections, so should Saudis, Yemenis, Egyptians, Syrians, Iranians (without the interference of the Mad Mullahs in choosing whom is allowed to run, there is no free election), etc., etc., etc. Otherwise, feel free to STFU about the centrality of the Palestinians and Israel.
  • Last, but not least: Colonialism has been over for many, many years, and yet, you’re still blaming it for your societal ills. Get over it, and learn how to put your oil money to good use instead of paying for palaces, planes, and parties. Get a real, job, you lazy bastards.

That’s all for now. But I doubt you’ll find much of what I wrote up there in Obama’s speech tomorrow. Count the Israel references, though. There should be a ton of them. Because when it comes to being “honest” with friends, apparently, the honesty only counts when it’s directed towards Israel. Once again, the Exception Clause is in play. That’s where you add “Except for Israel” (or “Jews”) to the end of whatever is being said, or when what is being said applies solely to Israel (or Jews), and to no one else.

06/01/2009

Obama, Muslims, and the AP narrative

Filed under: AP Media Bias, Religion — Meryl Yourish @ 8:00 am

In an article about how Obama must kowtow to Muslims, several things leap out at me, but this paragraph most of all:

If Obama wants to rally Muslim support to rein in Iran, analysts say, he will have to prove his good intentions elsewhere. In particular, he needs to move to end Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, lands the Palestinians want for a state.

The Gaza Strip has had no Israeli residents in it for nearly four years. How long will it take to get AP’s writers and editors to stop writing that it is occupied?

The other graf:

After the Bush years, one of the darkest periods in U.S.-Muslim relations, there is now a chance for reconciliation, said Shibley Telhami, a Mideast scholar at the University of Maryland who conducts annual public opinion surveys around the Middle East.

Huh. One of the darkest periods in U.S.-Muslim relations? Darker, even, than the Iranian hostage crisis in the 70s? Than the murder of hundreds of Marines in Lebanon in the 80s? The first WTC terror attack on American soil in the 90s?

And why exactly would the Bush years be a “dark” period for U.S.-Muslim relations? Could it be, perhaps, the thousands murdered on 9/11 by Muslim terrorists that may have made us think that Muslims had a problem with the U.S.?

What I tire of in all of these analyses is that explicit angle that somehow, the U.S. is at fault for Muslims that hate us, instead of radical Islam raising these people to believe that they can get their way through murder and jihad. And of course, there is always the Israel angle. They hate us, you see, because we favor the lone democracy in the Middle East.

And there is doubt the U.S. president can change entrenched foreign policy, particularly what is perceived in the Muslim world as Washington’s pro-Israeli bias. What Muslims see as America’s repeated failure to hold Israel to its international obligations is a sore point. A construction freeze in Israeli West Bank settlements – Obama wants it, Israel rejects it – is shaping up as a major test.

Not to worry. The pro-Israel bias of the administration seems to be lessening daily. Obama will not be visiting Israel on this trip. Egypt, yes. Saudi Arabia, yes. But not Israel.

And the AP is also following the media narrative:

The president’s initial actions have earned him good will. He’s reached out to Muslims in an interview with an Arab satellite TV station, in video message to Iranians on the Persian new year and in a speech to the Turkish parliament. He ordered Guantanamo prison closed within a year and said the U.S. would not engage in torture, reversing two Bush policies seen here as having targeted Muslims.

He’s not closing Guantanamo, and he’s reserved the right to use tactics like waterboarding if the situation demands it. But let’s pretend he reversed the Bush policies and just not use our objective reporting skills, shall we?

The article is titled “Muslims want tangible change on Mideast from Obama”. You know what? I want to see tangible change from Muslims. I want to see an end to the kleptocracies. I want to see an end to “honor” killings. I want to see women granted equal rights in all Islamic nations. I want to see religions other than Islam allowed the same freedoms in Muslim nations as Islam is allowed here in the U.S. I want to see Muslims own up to the terrorists in their religion and stop excusing them as justified. And I want to see an end to Muslim nations calling for Sharia all over the world.

Think I’ll get even a fraction of those demands?

Of course not.

Think Obama will kowtow to Muslim demands?

He is already.

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